How to Use Montessori Sandpaper Letters to Teach Writing

Montesorri andpaper letters

Montessori sandpaper letters are stiff cards with raised letters of the alphabet on them. These letters have a coarse, grainy feel, like sandpaper. Each card has a single letter on it, and the sandpaper letters can be used to prepare children as young as two for writing later in their education. Montessori schools initiate the sandpaper alphabet lessons at an early age so that children will be very comfortable with the materials as they use them for advanced learning.

Things You'll Need

• Sandpaper letters
• Paper
• Pencil

Instructions

1. Select a single sandpaper letter. It should be a letter that the child is very familiar with.

2. Trace the letter a number of times with the first two fingers of your dominant hand. The child should watch you do this, then imitate your movements. This will also be very familiar to him already, and he may make the phonetic sound of the letter while he is tracing it with his fingers. This tracing lesson will help his muscles prepare for writing.

3. Write the letter on the piece of paper. Do so in a careful, methodical manner that is identical to the direction that you traced the letter with your hands.

4. Invite the child to trace and write also. The child should trace the sandpaper letter with her fingers, then write the letter on the paper. She should only pick up her pencil to dot an "i" or a "j" or cross a "t" or "f." Make sure that the child is writing the letters correctly. This is one time that you should step in immediately if you see an incorrect habit forming as it will be very difficult to break these habits later. The child can write letters of any size and at any angle as long as they are formed correctly.

5. Encourage the child to practice on his own. He should practice one letter at a time, but can expand to write multiple letters in a lesson as he becomes familiar with the process. The sandpaper letters, pencils and paper should all be easily accessible.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not worry about the slant of a child's writing, as some children do not develop one at all, some slant backward and some forward. Each child will develop the slant that suits her eyes, and this is okay as long as she forms her letters correctly.